My Fiancée’s Secret Boyfriend

"Mr. Moore, is your fiancée unable to make it again today?"The bridal consultant kept her smile professional, but the implication was clear.I sat alone in front of the full-length mirror.This was the second time Natalie had stood me up.A few employees whispered nearby. They kept their voices low, but I could still hear every word."That's him. The illustrator. I have no idea how he managed to get engaged to Ms. Fisher.""She hasn't shown up once. She hasn't even tried on a wedding dress. I doubt this wedding is actually happening."I pretended not to hear them.Once I was inside the fitting room, I pulled out Scott's old phone. Hundreds of unread messages from Natalie filled the screen.[Why are you ignoring me?[Did I do something wrong? Just tell me, and I'll fix it.[Please answer the phone, even just for a second.[Are you leaving me?[Please don't leave me.]At the bottom was a 60-second voice message. I hesitated for a long time before pressing play.Her voice

I started packing.I didn't cry or cause a scene.I folded the clothes Natalie had bought me and put them back in the closet. The clothes I had paid for went into my suitcase.In the study, I covered the art supplies she had given me with a dust cover.Little by little, I removed every trace of myself from the living room.That was the scene Natalie walked into when she finally came home.She spent three days waiting in Cloudspire for "Scott," but he never appeared. She looked exhausted and unkempt, with smudged makeup and bloodshot eyes.She froze when she saw me closing my suitcase."What are you doing?" she asked with a hoarse voice.I didn't answer. I bent down, moved the potted monstera from the coffee table to the floor, then pulled the plain platinum band from my finger.Natalie and I had bought matching bands after she accepted my proposal.I placed the ring and my keys side by side in the middle of the coffee table."Ian, I asked you a question!" Her voice sharpene

Natalie didn't come back.Even so, she was far from idle.She was searching for "Scott" like a woman possessed, using every connection and resource she had to track down someone who didn't even exist.Valerie was the one who told me. She somehow got my studio address and showed up unannounced one day."Are you and Natalie really over?"I kept working on the colors without looking up. "What do you want?""You need to go back and talk some sense into her." Valerie looked annoyed. "She's so obsessed with tracking down that guy she met online that she can't even focus on work anymore. She's completely losing it. I heard she hired one of the best hackers in the business to trace the account's IP addresses and login history."My hand went still. A drop of paint fell from my brush and spread across the paper."Did they find anything?""I don't know." Valerie ran a hand through her hair. "But take my advice and stop pushing your luck. Natalie's only acting like this because she's angr

I never saw Natalie again.The game Chloe and I had worked on became a massive hit. My character designs were shared tens of thousands of times across social media. Almost overnight, job offers began pouring in.I expanded the studio and hired a team.Three months later, I held my first solo exhibition. I called it Rebirth.A huge crowd came to the opening, including industry professionals, reporters, and fans who had traveled just to see my work.Chloe pushed through the crowd carrying an enormous bouquet of sunflowers."Congratulations!"I took the flowers and was about to answer when a commotion broke out at the back of the room.People were being pushed aside, and someone asked, "Who is that?"It was Valerie.When she finally pushed her way through the crowd, I got a clear look at her. Her clothes were rumpled, her hair was greasy and unkempt, and she barely resembled the polished woman I had seen three months earlier."Ian!" She squeezed past the last few people and s

One year later…My private studio officially opened its doors.The grand opening drew a huge crowd. Congratulatory flower arrangements lined the sidewalk all the way to the corner.Chloe stood beside me in a fitted pantsuit. Now my business partner, she gracefully declined one toast after another on my behalf.Out of sight beneath the table, she slipped her hand into mine and held on.Warmth spread through my palm. I turned to her with a smile. She smiled back, just as brightly as she had the day we first met.The sun shone overhead, and it felt like everything was only beginning.At the edge of the crowd, Valerie stood watching me from a distance, her expression impossible to read.Beside her, a caregiver pushed a wheelchair. Natalie sat motionless in it.Her recovery had not gone well. The fire had left her face badly scarred and caused permanent damage to one of her legs.The confident, accomplished woman who had once commanded every room she entered now depended on a whee